Black Dahlia
by LoveXbitesXsoXdoXI
Summary: Dahlia Lambert gets involved with an abusive Indie wrestler who makes her his Valet and then he drags her along to WWE with him only to add to her torment. When CM Punk gets involved to help free the trapped Diva he didn't expect Paul Heyman and Ryback to get involved and use her against him. As the flames of love are lit between them will it burn bright or be stomped out?
1. Chapter 1

Dahlia cracked her eyes open and squinted them as the sun uninvited into her room through cracks in the shades. Reluctantly she sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed as she rubbed her face only to flinch when she felt a sudden pain. She glanced over beside her to see her washed up Indie wrestler boyfriend still passed out from last nights episode of drinking and fighting and she grimaced at him. As she got up and exited her room to get to the bathroom her apartment was in complete disarray.

"Fuck sakes." She said in annoyance as she made her way through the mess, which she'd have to clean up after work, and entered the bathroom. She leaned on the sink as she took in her reflection, make-up smeared and a nice shiner gracing her right eye as she let out a sigh, grabbing her make-up bag and fixing herself up as her eyeliner dipped lower than usually to cover to mark. Her white blond hair fell in shambles around her face as she pulled a brush through and gave herself two messy braids that framed both sides of her face. As she left the bathroom she was craving a cigarette and seen the pack she'd bought yesterday laying on the coffee table, among other things, but when she picked it up it was empty.

"That cock smith." She said as the irritation set in. She brought the empty pack with her into the room as she threw it at her sleeping boyfriends form making him stir. She currently worked two jobs just to keep food on the table and a roof over their head while he lazed around all day and went to the gym occasionally. Her day job was an assistant for an editor and her second one was a Valet for Nick, which he'd roped her into once she'd gotten involved with him.

"Fuck off I have a match tonight." He said and she rolled her eyes.

"And I have to go to work with no cigarettes along with a nice bruise under my eye." She said back to him sarcastically making him turn and look at her.

"You had one job to do Dahlia, and that was to keep the ref distracted so I could get in a cheap shot but you couldn't even do that so you got what was coming to you." He replied and she held back her anger.

"When are things going to get better?" She asked him in a low tone as she stood with her fingers tapping on the top of her dresser that was situated by the bed.

"Speak up, I hate it when you mumble." He said and she picked up one of her hair clips and threw it at him as she turned.

"I said when are things going to get better?! That's all I've been hearing but nothing is getting better! We struggle every god damn day of every month and all you do is spend money on booze that you end up pissing out the next fucking morning!" She yelled as he leapt from the bed and pushed her against the wall, his hand on her throat. At one point she would shake in fear over reactions like this, but she got so used to it that she wasn't even fazed anymore and just glared.

"I bust my ass off in that ring every night you unappreciative bitch. I could have left you in Jersey, scrubbing toilets and tubs as a chambermaid but I didn't. I took pity on you and brought you wit me but had I known the _hell_ you'd put me through I'd have left you there!" He yelled pushing his face closer to hers. She shoved against him repeatedly until his grip loosened and he released her.

"I really wish you would have because at least then I only had to work one job and know I could depend on getting a cheque for the work I do. These guys owe both of us for two months and a bunch of other people." She said and he wiped his hand through his hair as he tried to calm himself down as he sat on the bed with his hands clasped together and pressed to his lips.

"We'll get our break yet. I have an appointment with some talent scouts and hopefully it goes somewhere this time." He said as he recalled the last time he'd put forth effort only to get nothing in return.

"I sure as hell hope so because I am so done with this life, with us, that I'm ready to walk away." She said as she pulled open her dresser drawer and pulled out her black ripped leggings and a black tank that hung past her hips.

"Then just fucking leave Dahlia. I always hear that but you never actually go and now it's just fucking annoying and I wish you would leave." He spat at her.

"And when I do leave you're going to realize that you're nothing without me. I make your life better here and in the fucking ring." She said back as she pulled her clothes on.

"Really? You think your ring persona "Black Dahlia" is that important? Well she's not and I can do just fine without you so don't even bother showing up tonight." He said and she was fine with that.

"Good I need a fucking break from you and that bullshit excuse for a company anyway." She said pulling on her black knee high boots before leaving her apartment with a slam of the door. She need a cigarette badly so she stopped at a convenience store along her way to work to grab a pack before she killed someone. Dahlia was every bit the same person in real life as she was in the ring, bitter, mean and miserable. It wasn't who she was before Nick, but slowly the transformation took place starting with her make-up. As the abuse got worse, her make-up got darker and thicker. Then it was her clothes that slowly faded to black, and finally her attitude as she got sick and tired of everything all together. All she had to do was make it through the day, that was what she kept telling herself day after day to try and make her situation a little more bearable as she put up with an unbearable man.


	2. Chapter 2

"Daaaaaahlia." She heard Nick's voice draw out her name as soon as he walked into the apartment and she cringed, rolling over in bed and covering her head with her pillow. She heard his foots steps stumble into the bedroom before his crushing weight was down on her.

"Get off me." She said as she did her best to push against him. He pulled the covers off her and planted a sloppy kiss on her lips that made her pull away and wipe it off with disgust. The alcohol on his breath struck her in waves as he breathed in her general direction and she wanted to push him off the bed.

"I've got some good news." He said as he tried to kiss her neck. She backed away from him and moved so her back was pressed up against the wall and crossed her arms.

"Oh really?" She asked with a hint of disbelief. Nothing good ever came from this man and the day something did she'd kiss his ass. He fumbled as he pulled a folded piece of paper from his back pocket and unfolded it as he held it up for her to see. His arm swayed in his drunken state and she had to grab his wrist to steady it as she read.

"Wait is this a contract?" She asked and his smile grew wide as he nodded his head.

"WWE baby. They want me and I'm bringing you along for the ride." He said and she shook her head/

"Not this time, you're going it alone." she said and the smile quickly disappeared from his face as he stood up and towered over her.

"Why not?" He asked her in a slur of words.

"Because I'm sick of that lifestyle! I don't want to move again, I don't want to leave my home." She said as she looked around the shitty excuse she called home. He grabbed her by the arm and pulled her hard, making her fall face first off the bed. He put both legs on either side of her and squatted down as he shoved the contract in her face.

"You are apart of this whether you like it or not. You see that? That's your name put down as my Valet. I still have a year and a half to go with you before the previous contract you signed with me is up, stating that where ever I go you go, no if's ands or buts." He said as he grabbed her by the back of her hair and pulled so her face lifted up to meet his. He gave her a kiss on the cheek before pushing her head forcefully back down on the carpet and standing up to leave the room. "Start packing your shit we leave tomorrow." He said and for the first time in a long while Dahlia felt tears in her eyes. How had she come to let this man control her life for almost 7 years? She picked herself up off the ground slowly and crawled back into bed to try and get some sleep. She knew she'd probably have to go but she'd put a fight regardless, even if it meant getting a beating.

"Get up, I told you to pack last night!" Nick yelled and Dahlia opened her eyes at his sudden outburst as the blankets were torn from her body and she was dragged from the bed by her leg. She yanked back and glared up at him.

"I'm not going Nick!" She yelled back and he stopped from throwing all his stuff in a bag to look at her before walking over and grabbing her face in his hand tightly.

"Start packing." He said through clenched teeth as he let go but still she didn't budge. "I swear Dahl if you make us late I'm going to lose it completely." He said as he grabbed her by her upper arm and forced her to her feet. He pushed her into the dresser hard as she used her hands to lessen the impact and threw a bag at her back. "Pack!" he yelled and without a word she moved slowly until she had all the necessities. She walked out into her living room after pulling on some clothes and sat on the couch with her bag clutched to her chest.

"Are you ready yet?" He asked as he pulled his shoes on and she rolled her eyes at him.

"I still can't believe you're making me do this." She said as she rose to her feet.

"I'm making this better just like you wanted so drop the fucking attitude and at least say thank you." He said as he looked at her with a hateful expression.

"Thank you? Thank you for what? I don't want to go and you're forcing me into this just like you forced me to move here from Jersey where all my family are!" She yelled and he walked up till he was right in her face and slapped her hard.

"Your family doesn't give a shit about you! I was the one who came along and cleaned up the mess that you were." He shouted back at her. Dahlia went numb inside as she stayed in the same position that he'd slapped her into and stared down at the floor. He walked away from her and let out a breath of air before running his fingers through his hair and turning back to her.

"Can we just go?" He asked her in a calmer voice. She picked up her bag silently and headed to the door before him. They had to get to the airport before their flight left without them because they were late and she knew that if they were he didn't care if there was people around she'd get the shit kicked out of her.

"Just made it." He said as they boarded the plane and readied themselves for take off. Dahlia felt her heart beat quickly in her chest as the anticipation set in. She was terrified of heights.

"How long is this going to be?" She asked, voice cold as ice but her fingernails dug into the arm rests.

"Not long, why, have someplace else to be?" He asked her with a smirk that she wanted to slap off his face.

"Yeah, work." She said and he shook his head in disapproval at her snarky comment. He was right, the flight didn't take long, but it still didn't kill that anxiety inside her as they landed. They took a taxi to the arena where they would meet with the GM and a few other superstars but Dahlia just wanted to go home.

"Hello Mr. Maddox." Nick said as he held out his hand to the GM.

"Nick, Dahlia." He said. Dahlia stood a ways off behind him with her arms crossed as Maddox turned his attention to her and held out his hand. She just tilted her head and looked at him, not bothering to make an attempt. "Alright right then." He said as he put his hand back down to his side. "So tonight is the night and you guys will be up second. Dahlia of course will keep her name "Black Dahlia" because it's..fitting." He said as he looked her over nervously. "And we are going to give you the ring name of Psycho because together you guys are heel and your gimmick will be something sinister and evil because when I think Black Dahlia I automatically think of the Black Dahlia murder." Maddox said and she rolled her eyes. Leave it to her mother to go and give her the one name associated with murder. Whatever happened to regular names like Jennifer or Rachel? She sure as hell would rather be a Rachel.

"Alright that sounds awesome." Nick said as he nodded his head and smiled at the thought of their gimmick. He reminded her of a spineless bobble head that she wanted to run over with a truck.

"So I'll leave you two to get acquainted with everyone and to get ready for your match." He said as he clasped his hands together before making a quick getaway.

"Well this should be fun." Nick said as he tried to put his arm over her shoulders as they walked but she pushed him away and walked faster. "Quit being a bitch." He said but she just ignored him when she felt him grab her arm and turn her to face him. "Look at me when I'm talking to you." He said as he raised his hand at her.

"Hey, leave her alone." A man's voice called sharply and Nick turned as CM Punk made his way over to them. "You don't _ever_ put your hands on a woman." He said as he pointed his finger in Nicks face.

"Well how about you mind your own business and leave me and my old lady to ours." He said back as he puffed himself up to try and make himself look bigger than he was. Punk only smiled and chuckled at the smaller man.

"You really think you're tough right now? I just watched you try and hit a woman. Now I'm no woman and she looks like she could stand a pretty good chance with you but you dare to hit her in front of me, it will only take one punch and I'll knock your ass out." Punk said as he went chest to chest with Nick. With a huff Nick stormed off in a rage, leaving Dahlia alone to stare off after him. "Are you okay?" He asked in a gentler voice as he looked her over.

"Yeah, used to it by now." She said as she looked after him.

"I'm Phil Brookes, you are?" He asked as he held a hand out to her. She placed her hand in his lightly as she looked at him with stunning blue eyes.

"Dahlia Lambert." Punk smiled at her before letting go.

"Who is that guy anyway?" He asked as he stood and crossed his arms.

"Unfortunately my boyfriend and boy does he ever know how to make a lasting first impression." She said.

"You can do better than that. Just from that meeting I can tell the guys a complete loser and you deserve better." Punk said before waving good bye and walking away. She knew she could do better but it just wasn't as easy as everyone thought it would be to break up with him. In fact, she was utterly terrified to try. If he beat her over miniscule things then he'd probably try and kill her if she did. She decided she should go and look for him, feeling all the superstars and Diva's eyes on her as she walked backstage.

"Is that the new goth queen?" Brie Bella asked her twin Nikki as she walked by and she shot them a glare. Finally she found Nick still fuming and pacing around a deserted hallway.

"The nerve of that guy. And you," He said as he noticed Dahlia walking towards him and then stopped. He pointed a finger in her direction before storming towards her and grabbing the side of her hair and pulling him closer to him. She stiffened in his grasp and let out a sharp breath of surprise. "You should have said something!" He yelled before throwing her against the wall. She slid down to the ground as the wind was knocked from her lungs and he began his assault. With the way things were going Dahlia wasn't going to make it for the debut.


	3. Chapter 3

"Nick stop!" She yelled as he had her on the ground and kept kicking her. She felt her lip split open as he kicked her in the face and she did her best to protect herself with her arms. Finally he stopped and backed away, running his hands through his hair furiously as he looked down at her.

"Baby I'm sorry." He said as he knelt down to try and touch her but she pushed his hands away.

"Get the hell away from me." She said in a dangerously low tone as she pushed herself into a sitting position. He stood again and let out a huff of air.

"I don't know what's coming over me." He said expecting some sort of sympathy from her. She glared at the back of his head, the hatred within her rising.

"Yeah well we have a debut tonight and you expect me to go out looking like this?" She asked and he turned to look at her. She slid her tongue across her bottom lip as she tasted the blood that dripped down her chin and onto her cleavage. She was going to have bruises like you wouldn't believe within the next hour. She stood up and began to walk away from him.

"Where are you going?" He asked as he began to follow her.

"I'm going to clean myself up and hope to stop the bleeding." She said as she made her way through the halls carefully. She didn't want anyone to see her, how she allowed herself to be victimized by her own boyfriend. What would her excuse be this time? She tripped and hit the concrete? She learned how to come up with excuse after excuse to explain the bruising and cuts when ever people questioned her. Some people believed her and others just some how knew she was lying.

"Here use my sweater." Nick said as he ran up behind her and put his sweater over her shoulders. She considered taking it off and throwing it back at him but she pulled the hood up and partially hid her face as she pulled her hair forwards.

"What the hell do you call that?" Ryback said as he watched her walk past.

"How about shut your mouth." Nick said back.

"Give it a rest already before everyone hates us." Dahlia said getting sick of him bad mouthing the superstars. "It's our first night and you don't own the fucking place." She said as she came up to the female washroom.

"I'll wait out here." He said as she pushed the door open. She wished he'd find one of the other divas to torment and leave her alone. As dahlia stepped up to the mirror she couldn't help but stare at herself and notice how much she'd changed over the years. And it wasn't for the better at all. She was unhappy and scared and so badly wanted out of this life. As she took in the damage Nick had caused she felt a tear slip down her face, leaving a trail of black as it ran though her make-up. How did it come to this? She should have left the first time he'd laid his hands on her but she didn't because it was her first taste of love. Hell she didn't even know what love was anymore. But she knew love wasn't what they had anymore, it was a deep hatred and threats of beatings if she ever tried to leave him. He'd kill her, she knew he would because that's how unhinged the bastard was, and sadly she began to like the thought of it more and more as the abuse got worse. She threw open a stall and grabbed a wad of toilet paper before going over to the sink and dabbing at her split lip. Now she had to figure out how to fix it and make it look half decent. She heard the door to the bathroom open as a group of divas walked in chattering away.

"Jesus what happened to you?" Rosa said as she caught sight of the blood still on her chin.

"Accident." She said glancing at them through the reflection of the mirror before going back to wiping off the blood.

"That's the goth girl we were telling you guys about." One of the Bella's said as they smirked at her.

"Hey be nice." Nattie chipped in getting fed up with the way the Bella's treated all the new girls.

"Hey it's not everyday you get to meet Morticia from the Adams family." Her twin said and they high fived.

"Oh nice one Nikki." Brie said and Dahlia did her best to ignore them. She was used to getting picked on for her looks because she stood out like a sore thumb. The Bella's did what they came in to do and left as Nattie and Rosa stood there.

"I really hope they piss of the wrong person one day and get their asses beat." Rosa said as her and Nattie stood with their arms crossed.

"So whats' your name?" Nattie asked as she moved to lean on the counter next to Dahlia. Her eyes watched her from the mirror .

"Dahlia Lambert." She said as she tossed the bloody paper away and turned to look at Nattie.

"New Diva?" Rosa asked and she shook her head.

"Nope I'm a valet for my boyfriend. He's new and thinks he's tough shit when in reality he sucks." she said and both girls stared at her with their mouths slightly a gap.

"Are you sure he's your boyfriend?" Nattie asked and she nodded.

"Unfortunately yes." Dahlia said in a defeated tone. "You probably seen him standing outside the bathroom door." She said and they looked confused.

"Nobody was standing out there when we came in." Nattie said causing Dahlia to roll her eyes. She should have known better than to think he was actually concerned for her. "Need any help with that lip?" Nattie asked as she began to eye up her fat lip.

"No I think I've got some lipstick to help cover this sucker." She said giving her a faint smile. She wasn't used to receiving any sort of kindness and she didn't know how to react. Nick refused to let her have any friends claiming they were useless in the first place but she craved some sort of relationship with anyone other than him.

"Come on I can fix you up." Nattie said as she placed her arm around her shoulders and walked with her back to the divas locker room.

"Leave it to Nattie to take the newbie under her wing." Nikki said when they walked on.

"How about fuck off." Dahlia said back and watched as the twins looked shocked that someone had actually spoken back to them.

"This is our turf bitch so you better watch what you say because we can make or break you." Nikki said as she stood up to try and get in her face but her sister Brie held her back.

"She's not worth it, I mean look at her. C'mon Nikki let's go." Brie said as her and her sister left the room, their eyes glued with hatred on Dahlia.

"You must have some balls underneath there." Nattie said as her eyes went down to Dahlia's crotch and then back up.

"Nope I just learned from a young age not to take anyone's shit. I'm sorry if I come off as a bitch, I don't mean to be." She said in a sort of apology. This was the closest she's come to having a friend in years and she didn't want to blow it.

"Hey it's not a problem and completely understandable. Now the Bella's on the other hand are bitches and they pride themselves on that." Nattie said as she sat the younger girl down and pulled out some dark red lipstick. "now this should do the trick." She said as she pushed her hair out of the way and applied it to her lips. "Oh my what did you do? You've got bruising coming up all along your jaw and neck." Nattie said as she noticed the dark purple beginning to surface. Dahlia flinched away and forced her hair to cover her face and neck.

"It's nothing." She said in a low voice as she stood. "Thank you, I appreciate it." Dahlia said as she made her escape into the hall. She walked around as the eyes of all the superstars bore into her.

"Hey Dahlia!" The familiar male voice called out and she turned to see punk jogging towards her. "Your douche bag is looking for you." He said in reference to Nick. "Jesus Christ." He said as he moved her hair from her face and she pushed his hand away. "He beat you anyway." Punk said as he gave her a disapproving look.

"No he didn't." She said as she avoided looking at him.

"Really? Your eyes tell a completely different story. Why do you stay with him if this is what he does to you?" Punk asked her.

"Listen you don't know anything about us or me." She said back with a hint of anger. If Punk got involved in her life she might as well jump off a bridge because Nick would kill her anyway.

"Yeah well what I do know is that a beautiful young lady has bruises from someone beating the shit out of er for god knows how long. I wanna help you." He said and she glared up at him.

"I don't need your help. Look just but out it's easier that way." She said as she turned to walk away but Punk took her by the arm and turned her to face him.

"I can't turn a blind eye when I can see someone being abused. You may not want my help but your getting it anyway." He told her firmly and she looked up at him with disbelief.

"You don't understand." She said shaking her head as she pulled her arm out of his grasp. He watched as she walked away. Punk thought it was odd that he was forcing himself into a complete strangers life but he seen something in Dahlia that cried out to him and he wasn't about to ignore it. She had a tough exterior but he was determined.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N thank you so much for the faves, follows and reviews! :)**

Dahlia let out a voiceless cry of pain as she forced herself into a sitting position. With every move she made the pain hit her and it would make her wince and short her of breath. They didn't make their debut the night before because her bruises began to show sooner than they usually did so Nick came up with an excuse that she was ill and needed to rest. So when they got back to the hotel she took refuge on the couch away from him and endured his apologies that slowly turned to anger as she pointed out how wrong it had been for him to take his frustration out on her when he had a match.

"Good you're up. Go and fetch breakfast." He told her as he stared at her with his cold eyes. They lived together in hostility that she was used too, and she was afraid but she would never for a second let him know it.

"Get it yourself, I can barely fucking move." She spat back at him as she eased her legs over the side of the couch and clenched her eyes shut at the pain.

"I didn't even kick you that hard." He scoffed back at her and she glared up at him. Had she been able to move without pain she'd have been up and after him by now.

"You shouldn't have kicked me at all you dickhead. And yeah you did kick me pretty hard and a lot so fuck off." She said forcing herself into a standing position. She could really feel it in her hip joints making her limp as she walked towards her bag. She had to of packed some pain killers or something.

"Just throw some dark shit on and go." He said throwing a big baggy sweater at her that hit her in the back and nearly knocked her over.

"I swear to god Nick I'm so close to picking up the nearest object and beating you with it." She said as she steadied herself and turned around. He walked over and went chest to chest with her, using his intimidation skills to make her cower back.

"Then do it tough guy." He said in a low voice. She clenched her jaw but held her tongue as she grabbed the sweater and pulled it over her head before finding some pants to throw on. She put her hair into a ponytail and pulled the hood up so it hid her face as she went down to the dinning room to see what they had for breakfast.

"It's like a thousand degrees out what are you doing?" Nattie said as she walked by the door and noticed her just coming in. Then her eyes went wide for a split second as she took in the young girls bruised face that had gotten worse than it was last night.

"I get cold easily." She replied with no emotion. She gave Nattie a small smile when she felt two people shoulder her as they walked by and she winced in pain as the tears pricked at her eyes. The Bella's turned and looked satisfied thinking it was them that had hurt her.

"Are you okay?" Nattie said as she reached out and lightly grasped her arm. Dahlia straightened herself out and forced the pained expression from her face.

"Yeah just shouldered me a bit too hard." She said as she walked away from Nattie and to the breakfast bar. She grabbed two plates and began to place food on them.

"How are you feeling today?" She jumped at the sound of Punks voice as he feel in line behind her and grabbed his own plate.

"Just peachy, you?" She asked turning her attention back to what she was doing but she couldn't help the shaking of her hand in his presence, he made her nervous.

"I could be way better. Didn't sleep at all because I was up contemplating whether or not I wanted to go and remove you from that psycho's room." He said and Dahlia put the plate she currently had in her hand down hard as she looked around to see if anyone heard before turning her attention to Phil.

"Stop trying to get involved. It's not your battle to fight." She said in a low voice tainted with anger and pleading.

"Well it sure as hell shouldn't be yours either." He said looking at her before walking away with his plate and going to sit with a few of his friends, his eyes still on her as she finished up and left. It was like she could feel them burning holes into the back of her head.

"Didn't they have any pancakes?" Nick asked as he looked disgusted at the plate she placed in front of him.

"No they didn't, sorry princess." She said and seen the heat spark in his eyes as he picked the plate up and threw it across the room aiming for where she stood and missing her by an inch.

"I'm not eating that shit." He said and Dahlia was already making her way to the door to avoid another fight..

"I'm out, see you when I get back." she said as she retreated before he could say anything or stop her. She didn't know why but she decided on hiding out in the hotel gym that was literally deserted at that time because everyone was busy eating breakfast. The plan was to spend as much time away from him as she could because she already knew the shit storm that he'd kick up when she returned. She sauntered over to the punching bag and held her fists up as she began to hit it lightly, wincing with every move. She'd give anything to learn how to actually fight so that way when Nick went on his beating spree she could give him the surprise of his life and turn the tables on him. But knowing her she wouldn't stop until she killed him, only then would she be satisfied. She pushed herself through the searing pain that felt like it was burning her from the inside out and began to hit it harder until it swung back to her forcefully and she could feel herself breaking out a sweat as she numbed herself to the pain in her body and focused on the pain in her knuckles as she felt the rough fabric of the bag tear her skin with each punch and then she felt the blood drip between her fingers.

"Woah there tiger calm down." John Cena said as he walked over and stopped the bag. "You obviously have no idea how to use this because you didn't wrap your hands and wrists or wear gloves." He said and Dahlia shrunk away from him and John reached out instinctively. Her hand was up by her face as everything hit her like a truck and she felt the wet streaks of tears as the gripped anything to help keep her from passing out.

"Come on and sit down." He said as he grabbed her arms and guided her over to the bench press and sat her down. "Boy you really should take it easy, looks like you've already taken a beating and should be resting." He told her in a somewhat scolding voice.

"I'm fine just give me a minute."She said fighting off the fog that had overcome her head. John had stayed kneeling beside her with his hand on her knee to make sure she was okay when Nikki Bella's voice rang loud and clear through the room.

"What the fuck is this?" She asked in an accusing tone as she made her way over to the two of them in haste. Dahlia glared up at her and stood up to leave.

"Thanks John I'm fine now." She said as she went to walk around Nikki but she stood firm in her way.

"You stay the hell away from my boyfriend." she said pointing her finger in Dahlia's face who was resisting the urge to bend it backwards.

"Hey now, what did I tell you about your temper." John said with a smile at his girlfriend as he placed himself between the two girls.

"No John she is on my shit list and I don't want you associating with her." Nikki said as she tried to go around John to get in her face again but John just held her back.

"Let it go and let her leave without a problem, she looks like she's having a tough time as it is." He said in a low voice as he placed his head near her ear.

"I don't care if she's going through a tough fucking time, I'm going to make it 10 times worse!" Nikki said finally getting free of John and slapping Dahlia across the face. Her face stung but it wasn't half as bad as what Nick would do so it was easier to brush off.

"Thanks again John." Dahlia said as she walked out of the gym. Why is it that everything bad followed her around like the plague? She pulled her hands inside of the sweater sleeves as the blood began to dry and caked between her fingers. Phil weighed heavily on her mind with his vows to help her and she lost herself deep in thought. Maybe he could teach her how to fight for herself. She was never one to live up to the damsel in distress cliche, she was her own hero, but sometimes hero's needed help. Making her decision she set out to find Phil and see if he'd help her out.

"Hey Phil, can I talk to you?" She said as she found him exiting the dinning hall. He smiled at her as he walked over.

"Sure what's up?" He asked her as he leaned against the wall and looked down at her.

"Can you, uhm, teach me self defense?" She asked in a low voice and he raised his eyebrows at her.

"Wait, you actually want my help?" He asked her surprised and she felt herself scowl.

"Well if you didn't actually mean it then you shouldn't have offered." She said as she turned and began to walk away. Phil reached out and lightly grabbed her shoulder as he felt her body wince under his touch and he felt his heart sink. No woman should ever be victimized at the hands of her lover and Phil was adamant that she was going to be one less victim because he would make damn sure of that.

"Hey I didn't mean it to sound that way, it's just you've changed your mind in the matter of one night when it seemed like you were so sure that you didn't need help." He said when she turned back to face him.

"Well guess what, maybe I'm sick and tired of being on the receiving end, have been for almost seven years now and maybe I want to fight back and just _maybe_ I want out." she said staring into his eyes and he could see the pain and torment in her eyes and the desperate want to be free of it. He rested his hands on her shoulders lightly as he looked back at her.

"I'll promise you this. Whenever you need me I'll always be there to help you even when you can't help yourself. Trust me Dahlia, maybe you'll finally learn how a real man is suppose to treat a woman." He said and she could tell he was being genuine in just the way his tone was and his facial expression was soft towards her. It threw her completely off guard and she didn't know what to do, she was confused with the feelings she was getting and she had an idea of what it was and it made her want to turn and run away. It was because of her feelings that she ended up the way she was and she didn't trust them at all anymore.

"Alright so when did you wanna start?" She said trying to get away from him as quickly as possible.

"I'll give you my room number and phone number and you can find me when you heal up." He said as he walked over to reception quickly to obtain a pen and paper as he scribbled everything down and walked back over to her. "And don't be afraid to come and just hang out. If you need to get away my door's always open." He said handing her the paper before walking away. She stared after him as her fingers that held the paper tingled along with other parts of her, like her chest. Now she just had to figure out where to hide it so Nick didn't find out.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/n Thank you all for the reviews and faves and follows! xoxo :)**

For once in the seven years they had been together Dahlia had went a whole week without being hit and it was a shock to her, even though a few times he came close. The bruises had turned into a gross yellow colour as they faded away and became less noticeable and easier to cover with make-up. She had hidden the piece of paper Phil had given her in a Victorian locket style watch her grandmother had given her years ago that she always kept on her. She'd had to tear some of the extra paper off in order to fold it small enough to fit without being noticed before burying it back into the bottom of her bag.

"Alright our debut is happening tonight no matter what so don't fuck it up." Nick said to her sternly as they walked into the arena. She was carrying both of their bags before he ripped his out of her hand and took off without another word. Dahlia made her way to the diva's locker room to change into her own ring gear which was a black crop top with a rhinestone skull, black frayed shorts, fishnet stockings and doc martens.

"Holy cow do you own anything coloured?" She heard Nattie say as she entered the room. Dahlia was just sitting there with her feet up on the bench, knees to her chest and back against the wall, completely bored out of her mind as she waited.

"Believe it or not but no." She said giving the diva a friendly smile. She liked Nattie a lot because she wasn't mean to her or didn't look at her funny like everyone else did. She stood a few feet away as she placed her own bag on the bench and began to change.

"Well I like that you have your own unique style." She said pulling her pink ring top on. "After I'm done I can take you to hair and make-up, you know, show you were it is." She said looking at the other girl who only shook her head.

"I prefer to do my own because I'm afraid she'll mess up." She said as she parted her knees and reached forward between them into her own bag to grab all her make-up.

"I'm just glad your face isn't bruised anymore, what happened anyway?" She asked.

"It's a really long story that I'd rather not tell." She said as she popped the top off her eyeliner and began to trace around her eyes until there was a nice thick line on her lower lid that continued to under her eye. She pulled out her eye shadow next and looked at the colours indecisive.

"Go with pink." Nattie said giving her a wink and Dahlia thought she'd give it a try and surprisingly she liked it. "Now that looks good. Can I use that colour, I've never seen a pink that nice." Nattie asked and Dahlia gladly held out the eyeshadow palette.

"...I'm not even kidding that bitch better stay away from me tonight." Nikki Bella's voice rang as her and her twin made an entrance into the room quickly putting a damper on Dahlia's good mood. The hostility in Nikki's eyes as she glared was unfathomable but it didn't bother her at all because she was not interested in making friends with her at all.

"Wow I guess even goths can be skanks, I mean look at her stockings, they have holes in the holes." Brie pointed out as her and her sister shared a laugh that Dahlia mocked along with them as she gave them her own glare.

"I'm gonna have a smoke, see you later Nattie." Dahlia said as she reached into her bag and grabbed the pack and stood before she reached out and touched her shoulder lightly as she passed.

"That's disgusting." Brie said before her sister chimed in.

"I hope you choke on the smoke." Nikki said in her ear as she shoved her way in between them because they were blocking the door. In her antsy state her fingers fumbled to pull out a cigarette and it took her 3 minutes before she got one as she stuck it in her mouth while heading to the door.

"Dahlia is that you?" She heard Phil's voice say astonished as she turned and tried to locate him. When she did his face mimicked the awestruck sound of his voice as he walked over to her carrying his bag having just arrived. "You smoke?" He asked disappointed as he got closer and noticed the long white cancer stick that hung loosely between her lips.

"Not all of us share your willpower and determination." She said as she took it out of her mouth before smiling at him. "How have you been?" She asked and Phil took the smoke out of her hand before throwing it on the ground and stepping on it as Dahlia watched with her brows knitted together.

"Busy." He replied after he'd finished twisting his foot to make shut it was ground into the floor before looking back at her. "Don't smoke." He said tapping his finger on her nose and there they were, those damn butterflies in her stomach that made her want to puke.

"Hands _off_ my girlfriend." Nick's voice echoed as he walked over to the two of them and Phil just smiled and chuckled while Dahlia scowled and wished a wrecking ball would swoop in send him flying out of the building.

"I'll talk to you later." Phil said as he smiled at her before he tried to walk past Nick who stood in his way only making him chuckle again.

"Stay away from her." Nick said in a dangerous tone as he tried to go chest to chest with him.

"This is actually quite comical. What, are you suppose to scare me? You? You're so small and fragile looking that I'd be almost afraid to hit you thinking you'd snap in half." Punk retorted as he used his shoulder to shove past Nick who looked over to Dahlia in disbelief.

"Can you believe the _nerve_ of that guy?" He said walking over to her and pointing his thumb back at Punk who'd turned and winked at her while Nick's back was turned.

"Gee someone who won't take your shit for once, who'd ever have thought people like that exist." Dahlia said in mock wonderment making Nick give her a hard look.

"Don't give me your shit. I don't want you hanging around him anymore, you got a lot more cocky ever since we got here and you started talking to that douche bag." He said as he grabbed the pack of smokes out of Dahlia's pocket and took one. "You coming to smoke before we head out?" He asked looking at her as he lit it up in the midst of walking to the door as she followed behind.

"Of course I am, I'm a nervous wreck as it is." She said feeling the tension inside her begin to rise. "So who you going against?" She asked as she leaned up against the wall under the yellow light of the overhead lamp and dragged slowly on her smoke.

"Heath Slater. Should be easy, just need you to distract the ref at some point so I can get in a cheap shot." He said as he quickly finished off his cigarette and flicked the butt away. Dahlia was never one to finish a whole cigarette so she ended up putting hers out on the wall to save the other half for later.

"I'll meet you there just need to fix my hair." Dahlia said as she quickly walked past Nick to the diva's locker room. The locker room was empty as she grabbed her hair brush and quickly pulled it through her hair as she gave herself loose pigtails and made a dash for gorilla position.

"Damn I'd like to get in that." Ryback said as she past him and she looked back to give him a look of disgust as he began to advance on her. "Come on don't be like that." He said as he managed to get in arms length of her and grab her shoulder. He forced her to turn to look at him as she struggled to get away.

"Let go of me you creep." She said as she did her best to free herself of his grip as he wrapped his arms around her waist like a vice.

"Hey leave the young lady alone!" Zack Ryder said coming to her defense. Ryback only looked at him with a sadistic smirk.

"And what are you gonna do about it?" He asked as his grip loosened the slightest bit. Dahlia could hear the theme music hit and she began to panic as she struggled harder.

"Let me go I have to be there!" She yelled as she tried to reason with him but his smile only grew. For once she was going to be in shit and it wasn't even her fault. A loud crack echoed backstage as Ryback released her and moaned in pain. Dahlia could see that while she had distracted him Zack grabbed a chair and hit him.

"Get going quick." Zack said and Dahlia raced there, making it to the curtain as Nick was halfway down the ramp before walking out behind him. When he reached the steps her turned to see her and wore an angry yet questioning expression as she briskly walked to join him in the ring.

"Where were you?" He whispered harshly as Heaths music hit and the crowd focused on him.

"Ryback happened. He wouldn't let me go." She whispered back and Nick only shook his head.

"Fucking problems already." She could faintly hear him mutter over the music as Heath got into the ring and looked at her with a smile. As he made for the top rope to finish off his entrance Nick began his assault by grabbing the back of his hair and slamming him onto his back. Dahlia slid under the bottom rope as she stood ringside to watch. For the most part she was bored as she occasionally remembered to cheer on her boyfriend whom she hoped would get his ass kicked.

"Come on Nick!" she yelled as she slammed her hands against the apron when Heath got the upper hand. With everything that had gone on that night she'd forgotten to distract the ref so Heath managed to perform his finisher and pin Nick for the win. Nick got up as a look of shock came over him at being beat on the first night when he was so sure that he would win because, well, it was Heath Slater. Finally his shock turned to rage as he slid out of the ring and grabbed Dahlia by her arm, dragging her behind him up the ramp and into the backstage area.

"You had one job!" He yelled as he threw her to the ground. Saliva flew from his mouth.

"I'm sorry I forgot!" She yelled back trying to defend herself and stand only for him to push her back down.

"You did that on purpose, you wanted me to lose!" He yelled as he pointed his finger at her and then raised his fist before launching it at her and connecting with her jaw. She felt the crack and seconds later felt the pain.

"You're a dead man!" She faintly heard Punk yell over the sound of her own crying. Her jaw was on fire and she couldn't move it. Phil had been watching the match from backstage and knew that as soon as Nick lost he was going to take it out on Dahlia so he went as fast as he could in order to prevent it. As soon as he saw them, her cowering on the ground as he raised his fist and punched her, something inside of him snapped and he charged Nick. As soon as Nicks head turned Punk had knocked him off his feet and grabbed him in a head lock as he began to feed him fists to the face.

"We need help over here!" Someone yelled and a group of men came to pull the two men apart. Nick was bleeding from his mouth and nose, both men breathing heavily as Punk looked at him in complete rage.

"Dahlia are you okay?!" Nattie asked alarmed when her and a few other diva's came to see what the commotion was and she seen her laying on the ground. Dahlia only pointed to her jaw, being unable to speak and at the sound of her name Punk snapped out of it and turned on a dime to check on her. "Come on sweetie, I'll get you to the medic." Nattie said helping her to her feet and putting her arm around her back as they walked while holding her hand. Dahlia felt comforted being with Nattie because she cared but she was worried about Phil and Nick.

"What seems to be the problem?" The medic asked as soon as he seen the tear stained face of Dahlia.

"Something to do with her jaw, she can't speak." Nattie said for her. He had already been tending to someone else but they soon took second priority as he walked over and began to check her out, fearing a broken jaw. As he pressed and prodded Dahlia let out a cry of pain.

"Thankfully it's only locked but it'll hurt when I push it back." The medic said as he grasped her jaw firmly in his hands. "On the count of three." He said as Dahlia began to breath heavily in fear and anticipation. He did the countdown and pushed hard, making her jaw crack again as it burned up.

"Ow, Fuck!" Dahlia yelled finally being able to talk but holding her sore jaw.

"I'll get her an ice pack." The medic said as he went over to the fridge. Nattie placed her hand in the middle of Dahlia's back as she bent over with her.

"What the hell happened? Was it those damn Bella's?" Nattie asked with anger in her voice.

"Unfortunately not because at least I could stand a chance against them." She replied as the medic handed her an ice pack that she put against her throbbing jaw.

"Then who?" She asked and Dahlia just shook her head.

"It's not worth talking about." She said and Nattie stopped, putting her hands on her hips.

"Not worth talking about? Someone nearly broke your jaw!" Nattie said in shocked confusion. Before Dahlia could argue with her she felt another hand on her shoulder and turned to see Phil standing there looking worried.

"Are you alright?" He asked her sounding slightly out of breath.

"Yeah I should be fine? What about you?" She asked and he shrugged his shoulders.

"Didn't even get a hit on me." He said with a smile. "But it's you I'm worried about so I want you to stay with me the night." Phil said but she only shook her head.

"That would just make things worse." She said and Phil looked at her sternly.

"I'm not taking no for an answer. You're staying with me and that's finally." He said making her roll her eyes.

"Don't you have a match to prepare for?" She asked him and that brought a smile to his lips.

"Well now that you mention it, I actually just got suspended until next week for fighting your boyfriend." He said and watched as the side of her mouth twitched as she tried not to smile. "So shall we?" He asked as he held his arm out to her. She took it hesitantly and only held on to him loosely.

"I need to get my things." She said as she let go as they walked past the locker room. Phil nodded and she went ahead but when she opened the door she couldn't believe her eyes. Her stuff was thrown everywhere and her clothing had been cut to shreds, the fabric laying strewn across the floor.

"Those fucking bitches!" She yelled as she hit the wall with her fist that sent a shock up her arm. She packed her things up and tossed them in the bag, leaving the clothing pieces on the floor where they laid.

"What was that about?" Phil asked as he stood at the door having heard her shout.

"The fucking Bella's destroyed some of my shit." She said as she walked quickly out into the parking lot with the icepack still held tightly to her face.

"How do you know it was them?" He asked catching up with her.

"They are the only 2 that have given me problems so far that use the womens locker room." She said as she fell back and let him take the lead to his car.

"After you." He said as he opened the passenger side door for her and took her bag. She wasn't used to anything like this and it made her feel uncomfortable. "You can have the bed, I'll take the couch." Phil said when he got in the car and backed out.

"I can take the couch, it's your room." She said making Phil smile at her.

"There is no way I'm letting you sleep on the couch, you're a girl." He said and Dahlia looked over at him.

"What's that suppose to mean?" She asked him hating when people used gender against others as if that defined who they were.

"Nothing bad, I'm just being a gentleman." He said with a smile knowing he'd gotten her riled up.

"Well stop it it's weird." She said as she turned her attention back to staring out the windshield.

"Not all guys are dickheads and I'm trying to make you see that. Work with me here." Phil pleaded but he couldn't keep that smile off his face. He was amused by her attitude.

"I need to get clothes from my room." She said changing the subject as they parked in the hotel parking lot.

"Don't worry I'll be right there with you." Phil said as they got out.

"I'm not worried at all, even if you didn't come with me." She said back as the walls around her held strong. Punk thought it would only take a little hammer, clearly he needed a sledge hammer or a wrecking ball to get through to this girl.

"Shit I don't have a key." She said when they arrived at her hotel room and she searched through her bag to no avail.

"You can just wear my clothes." Punk said smiling at the thought of her in one of his shirts. She gave up easily this time as she followed him to his room where he handed her a shirt. "Did you need pants or something?" He asked as he began to dig to find a pair of jogging pants or shorts.

"No this should be long enough." She said as she slipped into the bathroom. He heard the water running and assumed she was taking a shower as he stripped down to his boxers and threw a blanket and pillow on the couch for himself. When she came out only minutes later he found she'd only wahsed her face of the make-up and threw her hair up into a pony tail. His shirt hung to her thighs and he tried not to stare.

"Do you have any books?" She asked as she took her spot on the couch and put her legs under the blanket.

"I think I have 2." Phil said as he once again looked though his bag. "Get out of my bed." He said turning back and noticing her on the couch as he pulled out the books. He went over and handed them to her before walking back over to the bed and pulling the covers back. She suspected he was going to turn in for the night as she looked at the covers and read the backs to see what one seemed more interesting.

"Hey!" she said startled as Phil slid his an arm under her thighs and onto her back as he lifted her up. The books dropped to the floor as he transferred her from the couch to the bed.

"I said get out of my bed." He said plodding her down and watching her bounce. The shirt rode up a bit and he could see the hem her light blue underwear before he turned and picked up the books, tossing them beside her on the bed.

"I could have taken the couch." She said as she watched him take her spot under the covers.

"Nope, but thanks for keeping it warm for me." He said with a smile and contented sigh as he sunk down into the cushions and closed his eyes. His feet dangled over the arm rest and he looked really uncomfortable.

"Phil just take the bed I feel guilty." She said as she stood up and he cracked his eyes open to look at her.

"Get your but back in that bed and go to sleep." He said as he turned on his side away from her. She turned to look at the bed and it was more than big enough to fit the both of them.

"Well then we can share!" She said as she went over and tore the blanket off him. Phil instinctively tried to cover his bare chest from the cold but it was no use.

"Don't feel guilty." He said as he stood up and grabbed part of the blanket as he tried to pull it back from her but she held tight.

"We share or I leave." she said looking him dead in the eye and catching him off guard. Slowly he let go and grabbed his pillow, tossing it to the empty side of the bed as he crawled underneath the blankets. He knew he would have to try extra hard to stay on his side of the bed because he liked to move during the night and wasn't used to sharing a bed. Dahlia crawled in next to him, deciding that she wasn't interested in the books he was and turned off the light.

"Night Dahlia." Phil whispered in the dark as he felt her get settled in.

"Night Phil, thank you." She whispered back and he smiled to himself.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N Thank you again for the reviews follows and faves! :')**

Dahlia's eyes cracked open in the darkness as she felt Phil wrap his arm around her waist and his body pressed firmly against her back in his sleep state. She stiffened at the sudden closeness, never experiencing something so intimate in her life and it made her uncomfortable. There was no way of telling what time it was and she was afraid that if she went to move over to the couch he'd wake up and scold her. Inch by inch she managed to remove herself from his grip and slip out of the bed before grabbing her pillow and the sheet Phil had tossed aside earlier when they were getting settled in claiming he hated the feeling of it. But as she began to set up her make shift bed she stopped and contemplated leaving. She appreciated everything he'd done for her but her place was with Nick and as far as things went with Phil she had no business being there and he had no business getting involved. As her gaze went over to the bed where she could faintly make out the sleeping form of Phil she stopped what she was doing, grabbed her things quietly and slipped out the door back to where she belonged. As Phil stirred beneath the blankets it took him a few minutes to realize he was sprawled out in the middle of the bed and he was alone.

"Dahlia?" He said as he shot up into a sitting position and looked around the room. He could see the pillow she'd been using and the sheet crumpled up on the sofa but she was gone. "Dammit." He muttered hitting his knee with the palm of his hand before getting out of the bed and pulling pants on. If she went back to Nick there was no telling what state she would be in and that horrified him. As he stood in front of Nicks door he began to bang on it urgently and prayed it would be her that opened the door but was disappointed when Nick stood there glaring at him.

"Where is she?" Phil questioned as a smirk came to Nicks lips.

"If she was here I wouldn't tell and if she wasn't here I still wouldn't tell you so fuck off." Nick said as he went to slam the door but Phil was quick to react.

"Tell me or I'll bust your lip." He said in a calm yet edgy voice. Nick tired to put on the tough act but Phil could see right through him and knew that he intimidated the much smaller man.

"I don't have to tell you shit." He said as a little bit of spit came out of his mouth and landed on Phil. He gave a force chuckle before reaching up and slapping him in the face, sending him falling backwards as Phil walked into the room.

"Dahlia?" He called as he looked around but an unknown female sat in the bed and clutched the blankets to her chest as she looked fearfully at Phil.

"She's not here!" Nick said as got to his feet and wiped the blood off his lower lip. "She came back at like 2 in the morning and seen me with her then took her shit and left." He finished as he cursed while trying to find something to put against his bloody lip.

"You're a disgusting excuse for a man. What you do to that girl and what you put her through is uncalled for and then you go around sleeping with other girls?" He said pointing to the girl who barely passed for 20 before looking aiming his next sentence to her. "Don't waste your time on him. He's abusive and a _loser._" Phil told her but she stayed quiet.

"Dahlia ain't worth shit but she belongs to me. She's a beautiful girl she just needs to be broken." Nick said smirking at him, his front teeth covered in blood.

"I swear to god I'm getting her away from you and keeping her away. She deserves a lot better." Phil said trying to contain himself.

"Humour me a moment and tell me what you see in her? She's nothing, a nobody and she'll always be that way." Nick said.

"That's just it Nick, you and me see her differently. You see her as a useless object where I see her as a beautiful young woman who got mixed up with an asshole." Phil said as he made for the door.

"I got her trained Punk, a loyal dog always comes back it's owner." He said and Phil's blood boiled in his veins at the way he called her a dog. Instead of going after him again and possibly getting fired as well as thrown in jail for murder, he slammed the door and headed back to his room. He'd been single for a while and in all the years no one has ever caught his full attention like she did. She stuck out to him where everyone else blended in and then he found out her situation. He had a feeling she hadn't always been 'Black Dahlia' and that Nick was the reason for that. She didn't know love and he had it in bucket fulls that he wanted to shower her with.

"Good morning sunshine." Nattie's cheery voice rang above Dahlia who was currently covered and twisted from head to toe in a blanket on Nattie's couch. She was thankful the diva wasn't mad or questioning when she showed up outside her door so early in the morning with her suitcase and a black eye.

"Can I just sleep forever?" Dahlia mumbled twisting even more in the blanket. After seeing Nick with another woman she did wish she didn't wake up. As much as she hated the man she still had feelings for him and he could be sweet when he wanted to be she was just stubborn. But after he threw her suitcase into the hall and pushed her out of the room he punched her in the eye, adding injury to insult and making her momentarily forget the pain in her heart. As her left eye cracked open her right one remained shut no matter how hard she tried to get it open. At this point she was not looking forward to facing anyone today especially not Phil or Nick. Phil was probably mad at her for leaving but she had to, she did have a boyfriend after all and he was too close for comfort. Even if he was sleeping.

"Okay that's it. Tell me who the hell is doing this to your face." Nattie said looking at her shocked as soon as she pulled the blanket down over her face.

"Is it really that bad?" She asked as her fingers went up to touch it but Nattie was quick to slap her hand away as she squeezed herself onto the couch next to her.

"Yeah it's pretty bad. I mean I thought it was bad last night but it got worse. Your eye is literally black and purple and swollen shut." She said as she looked it over. "Who's doing this to you?" She asked in a soft voice as she gently touched her cheek. It was bad enough that Phil knew but Nattie reminded her so much of her older sister Kendra that it was hard to hold back.

"You have to promise you won't tell anyone." Dahlia said looking at her with her only good eye.

"I swear on my life." Nattie said as she took a deep breath.

"Nick hit me." She said not going into detail and the shock never left her face.

"Is this the first time?" She asked but Dahlia only shook her head swearing not to say another word. "Oh honey." Were the only words Nat could think of saying as she pushed hair out of Dahlia's face before leaning down and hugging her. "If there is anything I can do for you just let me know okay? I'm here for you Dahl." Nat said and she stiffened at the pet name Nick had given to her.

"Well instead of calling me Dahl or Dahlia can you call me Lia or something?" She asked remembering the nickname her younger sister would call her because Dahlia was too hard for her to pronounce growing up.

"Alright Lia why don't be go and grab something to eat? Or I can go and bring something back if you wanna just stay here." Nat said standing and giving her a warm smile.

"Would you please?" she said as she looked up at her. She wanted to stay hidden, the less people that knew the better and if people did start finding out then it would completely destroy the trust she'd just started to build up again with people. "Oh and if you see Phil can you tell him I said thank you and not to worry about me?" she asked as Nat was halfway out the door.

"Don't worry I'll let him know you're okay." She said in a suggestive tone that made her feel as if Nat was making it out that she had a thing for Phil.

"It's not like that Nat, we're just friends." Dahlia said and Nat just raised her eyebrows as if saying 'Sure I bet you guys are' and it made her turn her head into the pillow and blush. "Why am I acting like a fucking school girl with her first crush?" She questioned herself at the feeling she got in the pit of her stomach. Every time she thought about Phil everything inside her felt light and fluttery and when she was with him it was only her and him and it made her smile. She untangled herself from the blanket and got up off the couch as she grabbed the remote for the TV and sat crossed legged at the end of Nat's bed while flipping through the channels before coming across a re-run of the Bugs Bunny and Tweety Show. She was still the old Dahlia at heart as she laughed at the cartoon before it was interrupted with a knock on the door.

"Who is it?" She called nervously afraid of the voice that would respond.

"It's me." Phil said from the other side of the door and Dahlia jumped off the end of the bed before going to answer it. He was standing there shirtless while she stood still in his shirt and his hand slowly reached up and caressed under her eye and she flinched away when he hit a tender spot. "Why did you leave?" He asked softly and she averted her eyes to the floor.

"I just wasn't comfortable being there anymore. I mean everything was good until I felt you holding me and then it just..I don't know." Dahlia said getting flustered.

"You left because I held you in my sleep?" He asked looking at her incredulous.

"Nick is my boyfriend Phil and not even he does that so it just surprised me and I didn't know what to do so I freaked and bailed." Dahlia said. There was no point in lying because she already knew that she was horrible at it and could never come up with one on the spot.

"You did see him in bed with another woman didn't you?" Phil asked her sternly as he propped his elbow up on the door frame and leaned into her. His words stung her heart as it brought back the memory of her going back there to apologize and then finding him in bed with someone else. She expected it sooner or later because she wasn't giving him any anymore but it still came as a shock and she choked up a bit before lashing out at the two of them.

"Of course I seen it." She said as her pained look turned into a glare that she set on Phil.

"The why are you still calling him your boyfriend? He treats you like dirt so it's time to be done with it." Phil said getting frustrated.

"Who the fuck are you to tell me when to end my relationship? You don't understand everything that man and I have been through together. Even though we don't see eye to eye there are still feelings between us." She said to Phil's utter shock as she began to defend their relationship.

"You don't even have a relationship. It'd more like puppet and puppet master and you sure as hell aren't the one pulling the strings here. When I went to your room to see if you were okay he called you a fucking _dog_." Phil said leaning down to be eye level with her and he could see that he was pissing her off.

"Phil I thank you for what you've done for me so far but now I want you out of my life. Every thing was fine until you butted in." Dahlia said as she tried to close the door but Phil held it open.

"Fine? You call getting regular beatings fine? Wake up Dahlia!" He said as he pushed his way into the room and she instinctively backed up until she hit her leg on the corner of the bed hard and nearly fell down but Phil caught her in his arms. He laid her back gently on the bed, their chests pressed together as he began to caress her hair, his eyes soft as they looked into hers. "I like you more then I should and I want you so bad it hurts me. I don't care that I just met you all I know is that I want you desperately." He said and her heart fluttered and ached at the same time. She had feelings for him too but Nick was the only obstacle. She'd tried to leave before but he'd threatened to kill her and her family if she ever left him and that was one of the only strings that still bound them together tightly.

"Phil...I can't. Don't do this to me." She said as her voice cracked. She felt him blow air from his nose as he lowered his head to his chest that tickled her neck and her hands rested gently on his sides.

"I just want to know if you feel anything for me." He said as his gaze went back to her face. She turned her head to the side as she chewed on her bottom lip. He was making this difficult for her.

"And if I said no?" She said still not looking at him.

"Then I'd know you're a liar." He said and her eyes darted back to his questioningly. "When people lie they avoid looking at someone else. When I stake claims about myself I live up to them so when I say I'm perceptive, I am, and when I say I'm the best in the world, I am."

"Then when I say I can't be yours, I can't." She said mimicking him and it only made him smile.

"What are you so afraid of? I'm nothing like him and I think I've done well to show you that." He said as his lips came dangerously close to hers.

"It's not you I'm afraid of. It's him." She said and Phil touched his lips lightly to hers before moving them to her ear.

"I will take and protect you from him even if it kills me." He whispered before getting up and leaving the room leaving Dahlia laying on the bed in shock. Not only was he gambling with her heart, now he was gambling with her life.


	7. Chapter 7

Rybacks eyes trailed eagerly up Dahlias creamy white legs and she shifted uncomfortably from his gaze as he stood across the hall watching her. She was hoping for somebody, anybody, she knew to walk by so she could escape the disgusting look of want in his eyes as she waited for Nick.

"Hi Dahlia." He said as he licked his bottom lip while staring at her. She cringed at the sound of her name on his lips and turned her back as she did her best to ignore him. She hadn't seen Nick since the incident last week and he was scheduled for a match that night against none other than the man standing behind her probably ogling her ass now. "I said hi." She stiffened as she felt his breath against her ear and the eat radiating from his body that was in close proximity to her own. She turned around and took a step back and cursed herself as her back hit the wall.

"Hi." She muttered back as she gazed up at him for a few seconds before casting her gaze to the floor.

"Don't be scared, I'm not gonna hurt you." He said and she felt as he took a stand of her hair and tucked it behind her ear before his hand slid under her chin and made her look up at him.

"Listen I have a boyfriend and..."She began to stutter but he only shook his head while sh-ing at her.

"I don't care about him, in fact, I'm going to beat the shit out of him. You'll be mine in no time." He said smiling at her and his words hit her like a truck going 120 miles per hour.

"I don't think so." she said as she went to duck around him but his arm caught hers and made her stop dead as she tried to get her arm out of his firm grip.

"I don't think you understand. What I want I get and you're no exception sunshine." He said as his mouth set into a firm line. Just great, another guy setting his sights on her and he was definitely not one she wanted.

"Dahlia let's go." Nick's voice called as he came out of the mens locker room from near by. Ryback let go of her and grinned at her evilly before walking towards gorilla position. "The fuck was that about?" He asked as she walked over rubbing her arm where a distinctive red hand print was evident on her pale skin. She didn't exactly know what to say.

"Just Ryback being a creep." She managed to get out after a few moments of silence. It wasn't the whole truth but it was accurate.

"Well tell him to fuck off." Nick said as he walked ahead of her. She rolled her eyes at his solution for everything, tell them to fuck off and hope the go away. If things were that simple she would have told him to fuck off years ago.

"Sure I'll tell a 200+ pound monster off a man to fuck off and you can peel me off the cement when he pummels me." She said and Nick turned to glare at her.

"Wouldn't be the first time." He said and the words cut deep. All her life it had been one abuser to the next starting out with her father. Mostly he'd just beat on her mother but when he was really ticked off everyone was a target and she remembered how her older sister would try and spare her and her younger sister a beating by begging him to take it all out on her while she took Lily, her younger sister, and hid in the closet.

"You're a fucking asshole." She said just loud enough for him to hear. The corners off his mouth twitched up into a smile and she really hoped Ryback would break his face on the cement. As they all stood and waited for their cue Dahlia went over and leaned against the wall so she was facing away from the other two.

"Hey beautiful." Someone said in a soft voice beside her and she looked to see Phil standing around the corner from her out of view from Nick. Her cheeks turned a soft colour of pink that she tried to hide using her hair.

"Hey." She said with a smile as she turned her body so she was leaning on her side facing him. Ever since he kissed her she couldn't get him out of her head and the feelings inside her towards them kept on growing.

"How have you been?" He asked and her face went from happy to unimpressed in under 2 seconds flat.

"Ugh horrible. Not only is Nick a douche bag but now Ryback is jumping on the band wagon." She said as she rolled her eyes and Phil was just confused.

"What do you mean?" He asked looking at her with his brows knitted together in confusion.

"I don't know what's up with him but he just freaks me out. Like he grabbed my arm and told me he gets what he wants and apparently he wants _me._" She said and watched as Phil's eyes darkened. He hated Ryback with the same passion he hated Paul Heyman. There had to be something more going on there and Phil was determined to figure out what. For all he knew Ryback could be trying to use Dahlia against him at Paul's command but the problem was that he would had to have known. Phil made it a priority to keep tight lipped about his feelings in case something like this happened.

"Have you told anyone about us?" He asked her and now she looked confused.

"What do you mean us? There is no us." she said as her face took on a hard look. She was still in denial that there was anything going on between them.

"I meant us hanging out and stuff." He said and she shook her head.

"No but Nick and Nattie knew...what's going on?" She asked noticing the look on his face. Something was brewing inside his mind and she wanted to know what it was.

"Nothing yet just try and stay away from Ryback, Curtis and Paul." He said before taking off. She was confused as to who the other two people were he mentioned to her but he looked worried and that made her stomach turn.

"Hey we're up next get over here." She heard Nick demand and walked backwards for a moment as she watched Phil walk away from her in haste before spinning and joining her boyfriends side. His theme hit first and they walked out, Nick grabbing her hand and holding it tightly as they made there way down the ramp to a chorus of boo's and 'you suck'. As much as she wanted to laugh she kept up her facade of misery and hatred. She walked around to the side of the ring as Nick got in and raised his arms up to the booing crowd before taunting them. When Rybacks music hit suddenly Dahlia jumped and her eyes immediately to the ramp where Ryback was coming down followed by an older guy. He looked at her with a smile before blowing her a kiss and laughing manically about it as he got into the ring. She just caught the look of disgust Nick gave her before he turned his attention to the monster stood across from him.

"As you all know I'm Paul Heyman." She heard Paul say into a mic as the crowd booed even harder and he just smiled. "You will all bear witness to this _sacrificial lamb_ and get only a taste of what Ryback will do to C...M...Punk." He said drawing out Phil's ring name before he dropped the mic and went to stand on the other side of the ring. His eyes locked on Dahlia's and he looked at her with a smirk. As the match begun Nick tried to get the upper hand but Ryback was too strong and he threw Nick around as if he were a rag doll. Finally he got him up on his shoulders and gave him the shell shock, going for the pin. As he was down on his knees he turned his head and looked back at her, a smile on his lips that made her skin crawl and she began to head for the ramp when he rolled out of the ring in front of her and stopped her dead.

"Where do you think you're going?" He asked her and she backed up and turned to run around the other side of the ring but Paul was behind her giving her that same sick smirk he'd given her earlier and she had a feeling in her gut she was in deep trouble at this point. Phil's music hit and he was out and running down the ramp in a flash but Ryback had turned ready for him as Phil ran up the stairs of the ramp and launched himself at Ryback. He tried to catch him in mid air but stumbled backwards and fell and Phil started laying the beats to his face only for Ryback to push him up forcefully and she watched Phil got up in the air and then hit the ground hard.

"Get backstage." He said looking up at her with a pained expression and she wanted so badly to pick him up and take him with her, and if she had the strength she would. "Dahlia run!" He yelled and she felt arms wrap around her chest and lift her off her feet. She screamed as she began to kick, the crowd going wild around her but she was horrified having no idea who had her. Her gaze we to Nick who was still out cold in the middle of the ring as someone walked with her up the ramp to where Paul was stood again with a microphone.

"She's ours now Punk." He said as he began to laugh. Dahlia's arms were pinned to her sides as she struggled and kicked to try and get free but it was no use. Whoever had her kept walking until they were backstage before putting her down and she turned to see a young man with a goatee.

"Keep your hands off me!" She said as she went to hit his chest but he grabbed her hand tightly and chuckled at her.

"She doesn't seem to be Punks type, are you sure it's her?" Curtis asked Paul who only smiled and nodded.

"Now I have one thing to use against him that will really _hurt._" Paul said giving her an evil smile.

"I have no idea who you are but I am _not_ being used as a pawn." Dahlia said as she tore her hand out of Curtis grip and spun towards Paul in anger.

"Well guess what, you're being thrown into this whether you like it or not. It will make for great television and it was all Stephanie McMahons idea. Not to mention I really hate CM Punk and what better way than to hurt his girlfriend on live television _every week._" He said as he lowered himself to her level.

"There's my prize." She heard Ryback say out of breath as he joined the 3 backstage and she cringed away when he tried to touch her. He clicked his tongue before grabbing her by the back of her hair. "Now now kitten, play nice. I earned you fair and square." He said as he brought his face lower to her before smashing their lips together. Dahlia beat against his chest as she tried to get free.

"You fucking tramp!" She heard Nick yell and Ryback broke away from her and she began to spit the taste of him from her mouth as she wiped around it frantically. Ryback turned angry eyes on Nick who looked equally as pissed. "Keep your hands off my girlfriend." He said jabbing his finger into Rybacks chest. She watched a smile form on the bigger mans lips before he took hold of his arm and bent it until Nick cried out in pain.

"Don't insult my prize and don't touch me or I'll break your arm." He said as he applied more pressure before letting go. Dahlia was slowly inching her way out of the group as the three were distracted by Nick. Finally the guy was good for something.

"She's getting away!" Curtis yelled when he turned his attention back and seen the petite blond hightailing it away from them down the hallway towards the parking lot. The only words running through her head were run and hide. And maybe cigarette.

"Don't worry, we'll get her next show and make it even better cause you, my friend, are going to pull her down to ring side while Curtis handcuffs punk to the ropes and you're gonna do what Randy did to Stephanie and give her a beating right in front of Punk." Paul said with a sadistic smile while looking at Ryback who returned it. Of everything Rybck loved, hurting people was one of them even if it was his 'Prize'.

"Forget about me and check on the girl." Phil was saying as the medics came out to bring him back to the trainers office to get looked at. Everything inside him hurt but he didn't care, all he knew was that Dahlia was in trouble and he wanted to make sure she was okay.

"Punk you're more important." They said but he only pushed them away. If they weren't going to make sure she was okay then he was and he didn't care if Ryback beat him again, he needed to get her away from them. He made hi way back up the ramp with the medical personnel following close behind and when he got backstage Nick was on the ground writhing in pain.

"Where's dahlia?" Punk asked in a pained voice.

"She ran, oh god help me." He moaned in pain as the staff turned their attention to him. He was holding his gut after Ryback punched him hard in the stomach for allowing dahlia to get away before the three men called it a night and left. Phil hobbled down the halls calling her name and holding his midsection, wincing ever now and again from the pain. After almost half an hour of searching he finally came to an area filled with crates that would soon be packed with all the lighting and other equipment and he just caught sight of the tip of a shiny black boot sticking out the tiniest bit between two crates.

"Dahlia?" He asked softly as he walked over and leaned down. Sure enough she was there, scared, shaking and crying as she looked up at him. She'd heard someone calling her name but she was afraid it was one of them or Nick and it scared her even more. "Dahlia come on." Phil said softly as he motioned her out with his hand before offering it to her. She grabbed a hold of it and he pulled her up with all the strength he could muster and then inhaled sharply as the pain hit him again knocking him off balance.

"Phil!" Dahlia cried as her hands immediately tried to steady him. She grabbed his arm and placed it around her shoulder as they walked. "I'm so sorry, I didn't expect anything like that to happen."

"It's not your fault it's mine. I should have warned you that something like this would happen but I wasn't thinking." Phil said as they walked slowly out to the parking lot. "Hold on I need to rest a minute." He said as he let go of her and leaned up against the wall. Her shaking hands reached into her pocket and pulled out a carton of smokes and she lit one to calm her nerves. Phil watched as she did so but didn't say anything because the poor girl looked like she needed it. Her make-up left black lines down her face where her tears had fallen and he noticed the faintest line that went to her upper lip and her reached out and gently rubbed it away making her snap out of her dazed state to look at him.

"You ready to go?" She asked in a voice that reminded him of a scared little girl and he nodded. She flicked the smoke and grabbed onto him again.

"Don't worry I can walk without help." Phil said as he tried to push her away gently but she held firm to him and he relaxed into her, unable to fight and honestly not wanting to. Her arms were wrap gently around his waist but her hands gripped his hip firmly so he wouldn't keel over as they made there way to his car. "You can drive right?" He asked her and she nodded as he reached into his pocket and pulled out his car keys before handing them to her.

"Phil can I stay with you tonight?" She asked looking up at him with those blue eyes that he couldn't resist.

"Of course you can stay with me." He replied as she helped him into the passenger seat. The drive back to the hotel was silent, not an awkward silent but a silence that didn't need to be filled.

"I'll grab our things, can you manage on your own?" She asked as she stood in the drivers door with her head ducked to look at him.

"Don't bother with the stuff, it'll be fine in the trunk. I just wanna go to sleep." He said and she closed the door before making her way around to his side and helping him out and up to his room. As soon as Phil got close enough to the bed he flopped down on his stomach as Dahlia made her way towards the couch.

"I swear if you say you're sleeping on the couch get out." Phil said making her crack a small smile as she stopped in front of his suitcase that had been thrown on the couch. She unzipped it and grabbed one of his shirts and Phil just watched as she stripped with her back towards him, wanting to reach out and run his hand down her back just to see what her skin felt like when it wasn't being concealed by her clothing.

"You don't mind right?" She asked as she turned around already wearing his shirt and he shook his head.

"You wear it better than I do." He said giving her a smile as she crawled into the bed. Phil crawled up like an inch worm, careful not to hurt himself as he pulled his side of the blankets down and got underneath. He stripped his shirt and pants before laying down and closing his eyes, and to his utter surprise, he felt Dahlia scoot over in the bed, place her arm on his abdomen and rest her head on his chest.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N Thank you all so much for the reviews and positive feedback on this story! I hope I don't disappoint :) Please Read and review my loves **

Phil moved in the bed so his arm was resting behind Dahlia's neck as his hand rested lightly on her arm and he began to drag his fingers lightly in circles over her skin. He knew she wasn't sleeping by the way her eyelashes fluttered every few seconds against his chest when she blinked.

"Something bothering you?" He asked in the darkness and felt her breath dance across his skin as she sighed.

"No, how about you?" She asked thinking that he had been asleep while she was plagued with the memories and thoughts of what happened earlier that night.

"Nope, in this moment I'm happy." He said as he smiled down at her form in the dark. He noticed her eyes glistening as she looked up at him and he leaned down to kiss her forehead. "So why aren't you with your boyfriend?" He asked and she pulled herself out of his arms as she sat up in bed.

"Because I'm trying to make him not my boyfriend." She said as she crossed her legs and fiddled with her hands. She felt guilty for being there and once again she found herself contemplating leaving but knew it would be difficult with Phil awake.

"Like I've said many _many _times before, just break up with him." Phil said sitting up and lightly touching the small of her back. He felt the vibration of her letting out a frustrated groan and she rolled her eyes.

"Everyone seems to think it's that simple but it's not! With everything seeming to throw itself at me I just wanna take a step back and breath and face things one at a time instead of all at once." She said irritated. It was always rush rush rush with everyone and they never seemed to allow her to do things at her own pace and that was when she began to make mistakes. Phil began to rub up and down her back before apologizing, forgetting that even though he may have had it all planned out for her that her mindset was different than his own.

"Like I said, you'll always have me." He said before kissing her temple this time. "Now let's try and get some sleep." He said as he laid down and gently pulled her with him, careful not to hurt himself in the process.

"As much as I'd love to this feels like it's gonna be a long night." She muttered, mostly to herself.

"Well we could talk, or I could sing for you even though I'm a horrible singer." He said causing them both to chuckle.

"Well what's there to talk about?" She asked wanting the temporary distraction to put her mind at ease.

"We could talk about each other, you know, get to know each other more. I'm an open book so you can ask me anything you want." He said looking down at her and everything she seemed to know about herself seemed to have gone in a flash and suddenly Dahlia didn't know who she was anymore and that scared her.

"Let's start with you. What's your family like?" She asked as she played with a crease in the bed spread underneath them. She was currently laying on her stomach and holding her upper body up with her forearms.

"Wow you go for the hard hitting, non typical questions don't you?" Phil chuckled back sarcastically. "I have an older brother Mike and my mother and father. How about you?"

"Basically the same except for me being the middle child in a family with 3 girls. My older sister Kendra and my brat sister Lily...well I don't know if she's still a brat, I haven't seen her in a while." She said as she averted her eyes from his hazel ones and looked at her hands. She missed her sisters to the point where it hurt her internally and she wanted to cry.

"What happened? Falling out with your family?" Phil asked softly.

"Kind of. I left when I was 16 cause I couldn't handle all the bullshit going on in my house. Like Nick was dad was an abusive asshole so I got the hell out of there. I tried to bring Lily and Kendra with me but they didn't want to so I went off on my own and ended up here." She said slowly bringing her gaze back to his.

"Where do they live? Do you wanna go see them?" Phil asked throwing question after question at her.

"I think it's my turn to ask a question because you had 2 in a row." She said with a small smile that mad him grin.

"Alright fire away." He said and her eyes grew heavy as she racked her brain for something to come up with.

"I know Jersey was bad for drugs and alcohol and all that fun shit but what was Chicago like? I've always wanted to go there." She said and his eyes just widened in amusement.

"I love Chicago now but growing up I hated it. I was always picked on and beat up because I didn't follow the 'in crowd'. I went straight edge and I'm damn well sticking too it. But you're a Jersey girl? How come you don't have that funny little accent?" He asked her.

"Not everyone from Jersey has the accent." She said mocking it making them both laugh. "And no Jersey shore is not my favorite show, in fact, I proudly protested the hell out of it because that is not the Jersey way at all." She said defending her home state. Jersey wasn't all that great but it was home to her so that made it worthy enough to defend in her book. "How come you're not an asshole?" She asked and it took him off guard as he stared off into the darkness.

"I don't know, maybe because I was raised right. Women are great. They make babies and cook and clean and make a house a home so treating them properly has always been my main priority. Speaking of which have you ever considered having kids?" He asked and she busted out laughing.

"Phil I like you and all but it's a little soon for the baby talk." She chuckled and he was confused for a moment before it sunk in.

"I meant like in your future not now and with me stupid." He said as he reached out in the darkness and nudged her sideways.

"I've always wanted kids, a small army of them in fact but Nick isn't the guy I'm going to be having them with and that is for sure. I won't make my mom's mistake." She said as she rolled over onto her back. Their vision had adjusted to the dark a while ago so they could both faintly make out each others forms and Phil's only desire was to pull her into him and fall asleep. "As stupid and cliché as this is going to sound I've always wanted to live in everyone's version of a dream house with the white picket fence in the perfect little neighborhood that makes you sick because you think everyone is so fake but they really aren't. I want that." She said opening up to him.

"By the sounds of it you were a normal girl growing up. What happened?" Phil asked and a heavy feeling came over her.

"I changed to protect the old me. I'm going to sound crazy when I tell you this but I just don't care anymore. Black Dahlia is basically my alter ego that protects me from Nick and everyone else, but I want the real me back." She said and he could hear the sadness in her voice as tears formed in her eyes that he couldn't see. She turned on her side away from him, that momentary act of vulnerability taking a lot out of her and the walls came back up. Phil grabbed her around the waist and pulled her into his chest as he began to feather kisses down her cheek.

"Hey it's okay. You can trust me Dahlia, I'm not gonna hurt you ever and I want you to be able to open up to me. You have no idea how good you made me feel moments ago." He said into her ear as he felt her body vibrate against his as she tried her best to hold in the worst of her crying.

"This is going to sound stupid but when I'm with you it's the happiest I've been in years and I don't know why." She said as she got herself under control. Phil just smiled against her skin before kissing her shoulder. No one has ever been so intimate with her and it felt so good for once even though she felt nervous. Sure she'd had sex before but she never felt emotionally connected like she did with Phil.

"It's not stupid because you make me happy too." He said as they relaxed into each other. Things began silent between them and Phil waited until he knew she was asleep before he allowed himself to drift off.

**Next week...**

"What the hell is going on with you? You act like we aren't even together anymore. Who the hell are you staying with?" Nick yelled as he cornered her against the wall in one of the empty hallways away from the hustle and bustle of people working and getting ready for the nights show.

"Because Nick, cheating on me was a sign saying that we shouldn't be together and who I'm staying with is none of your business." She said crossing her arms.

"Cut the fucking attitude with me or you're gonna get slapped. Fuck I'm gonna do it anyway." He said as he brought his hand up and flung it towards her but her arm snapped up just in time to deflect it as her face came over with anger.

"No! I'm not allowing you to hit me anymore! I'm done with you and what ever this was that we had." She told him and he grabbed her wrist before twisting her around so her face and torso were pressed hard against the wall and her arm was behind her back.

"We are done when I say we're done. You ever try to leave me before then for that fucking Phil guy then both of you are dead and I'll make sure he gets his first and I'll make you watch." He whispered harshly in her ear. He released her wrist but grabbed her by the back of her hair and slammed her face hard into the concrete wall making her hit her cheek. He walked away as she turned and slid down the wall holding onto her cheek as the pain flared up. As much pain as she was in she still felt proud of herself for at least getting the nerve to stand up to him for once but what he said unnerved her. This wasn't the first death threat against her but when he brought Phil into it her heart stopped. She knew Phil could handle his own but Nick was a psychopath when he really got going. She used the wall to push herself up before walking back into the main area backstage where a lot of the superstars were hanging out and getting ready.

"Ugh maybe we should do her a favour and just cut up all her clothes." Dahlia could faintly hear Brie say to her twin and that brought back the memory of them cutting up her clothing a few weeks back and she still hadn't extracted her revenge. With a new found courage she walked right up to the two and they gave her the stare down as they puffed out there chests and flanked her on both sides to try and intimidate.

"Cut the shit Bella bitches. What's you're problem?" Dahlia asked and watched as their jaws dropped.

"Honestly there is no problem we just don't like you." Nikki said as she jabbed her finger into her chest and Dahlia grabbed her hand, trapping it so her pointer finger was still erect as she used her thumb to push back on it hard making her yell out in shocked pain.

"Don't touch her!" Brie yelled as she tackled Dahlia to the floor. Nikki was too busy holding her finger and gasping in pain.

"Brie I think she broke it!" Nikki cried out as the two girls rolled around on the floor trying to get in a few shots that the other just kept blocking.

"Get off me you psycho!" Brie yelled when Dahlia managed to roll her over and grabbed her head to try and bash it off the floor.

"Hey hey!" Daniel Bryan said coming to his girlfriends aid along with John. Dahlia felt hands around her waist pulling her off hard and setting her to the side as Brie scrambled to her feet and tried to go after her again. Dahlia's eyes darted back and forth between the twins as they both fought behind their restrained boyfriends to get to her.

"You are so getting it!" Brie yelled pointing her finger at her is it were a dagger.

"You messed with the wrong girls." Nikki joined in but her hands remained hidden.

"Alright this is getting ridiculous! What is up with you three?" John asked looking between the three girls.

"She's the problem John! We need to get rid of her." Nikki said looking up at her boyfriend like a wounded puppy.

"I'm not the one cutting up your clothes and throwing your shit around the locker room." Dahlia spat back when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned to see Nick standing there and soon he was yanking her away from the situation. "Let go of me!" She said as she tried to pry his hand off her and push him away.

"You're staying backstage tonight, I have a tag match with Punk because of what happened tonight and they want me to do some sort of alliance with him but fuck that shit." Nick said as though this was all her fault.

"I'm your Valet, they expect me to be out there." She said and couldn't believe the words coming out of her mouth and apparently neither could Nick.

"You only wanna go out there because Punk will be out there!" Nick shouted at her as his face began to go red with built up anger. "Ever since we got here you've been whoring yourself out to Punk when you didn't even want to come in the first place."

"I have not been whoring myself out to Phil. Me and Phil are friends and I'd rather spend time with him because he actually treats me like a human being." Dahlia fired back at him. Nick's lips turned up into a sick grin remembering what Heyman, Ryback and Axel had planned to do next week and it brought him a sick sense of satisfaction. He wasn't going out to the ring that night, he'd leave Punk to go it alone and then he'd watch as Ryback dummied the dumb blond stood in front of him.

"Whatever you get tonight sweetheart, remember it was all well deserved and what was coming to you." He said so proudly it made her want to vomit. He walked away from her, a sudden pep in his step letting her know that something was up and it wasn't good on her end.

"You look terrified." Phil said making her come out of her daze as she stared off down the hallway Nick had vacated minutes ago as her mind wandered frantically.

"So far tonight has not been my night at all." She said looking up into his hazel eyes. Phil was such a beautiful man and she admired every little thing about him.

"Wanna talk about it?" He asked wrapping his arm around her shoulder as they began to walk towards catering.

"Not much to say just fighting with the Bella's and Dick, I mean Nick." She said making the mistake on purpose. She'd always wanted to make that reference.

"Well sounds like an ordinary productive night for you but I just wanna know if anything got physical." He said looking down at her as they stopped just outside the catering room doors.

"Oh yeah, me and Brie battled it out like barbarians. I was thinking about ripping her clothes off to compensate for my own that she destroyed." Dahlia said making Phil grin so wide his eyes crinkled and shone at her.

"You're unbelievable. I meant between you and Dick." He said.

"It went about as smoothly as a shitty car on a gravel drive full of potholes." She said and his smile dropped and she knew what he was going to say but didn't wanna go through this all the time with him. "Phil before you even go there I actually stood up for myself and blocked his first hit." She said and he nodded his head in approval.

"Fine I won't go there this time but tomorrow we start self defense so that way you can manage all hits." He said walking in with her.

"Hey Lia!" Nattie said with a radiant smile when she seen the young girl walk in with Phil. Dahlia noticed she wore that same suggestive smile as she watched the two and couldn't help but blush. "How have you been?" She asked as she stood up from the table she'd been sitting at with her fiance and hugged her tightly.

"I have been so much better but can't complain." Dahlia said smiling warmly back. "How about you?"

"Never been better. Me and a few of the girls are getting our chance at the Diva's title finally and my wedding is coming up so everything is going perfect. You are coming to my wedding right?" Nattie asked looking at her.

"Well since I've been invited you know I'll be there. What should I wear?" Dahlia asked to get a feel of what would be appropriate.

"Make sure it's a dress and not black." Nattie said nudging her shoulder and making her laugh.

"Looks like I'm going shopping then." Dahlia said and Nattie's eyes lit up.

"I am just the girl to help you! We'll set up a day and everything and it'll be like a girls day and I will show you the girly side of life." Nattie said and Dahlia couldn't help but feel thrilled at the prospect of having a day where she could indulge her inner female.

"Alright I'm headed out for my match with your boyfriend so I'll see you out there." Phil said coming up to the chatting women.

"Nick told me he won't be out there but I'll go out with you." Dahlia said turning her attention to Phil who looked irritated.

"Well that's just swell of him, god he's such a pleasure to work with. How did I ever get so lucky." Phil said in a string of sarcasm that made Dahlia choke up laughter as she tried to contain herself in Nattie's presence. "Just stay back here and I'll take the handicap beat down. This night is gonna suck." Phil said rolling his eyes as he headed for gorilla.

"You two together would be just perfect." Nattie said once Phil had gone.

"How many times do I have to tell people we are just friends." Dahlia said as a blush rushed to her pale cheeks making them stand out.

"You like him and you know it. You guys just bonded so fast and I just...I don't know how to explain it other than saying you guys remind me of T.J and I when we first started dating and you guys aren't even dating. You and Phil have something special, don't let it slip through your fingers because once it's gone it's gone." She said as she explained to her everything she'd already known.

"I'm getting there Nattie, Nick's just a boulder in my path that I'm having difficulty moving. I'm gonna go for it. Phil is who I want." She said and felt the older Diva take her hands and let out a girly sound. "God this is so cheesy." Dahlia said making Nattie laugh.

"Welcome to the world of romance." She said nudging her arm.

"I'm gonna go and watch Phil's match and hope things don't end up too bad. Bye Nat, I'll talk to you soon." Dahlia said as gave a little wave and left catering to find the nearest television. She could hear Phil's theme music hit off in the distance as it echoed throughout the arena and backstage area.

"Just the girl I wanted." She heard Rybacks sick voice say behind her and without hesitating or looking back she made a run for it.

"Not so fast princess." Paul Heyman said stepping in front of her path from what seemed like out of now where. Axel's music hit and the grin that appeared on Heymans face reminded her of Nick earlier and she wanted to slap it off his face. She felt Ryback pick her up off the ground as she screamed and struggled but he only pulled her over his shoulder. IT dug into her stomach and she felt the vibration of his laughter go throughout her entire body.

"No please! Put me down! Let me go! Someone help!" She cried out as she kicked her feet up trying to nail Ryback in the face and pounded on his back with her fists. She heard the roar of the crowd as they hit the ramp and her body went rigid with fear.

"Oh Puuuuuunk, look what I've got." Paul said as he distracted Phil from Curtis who was down on the mat writhing in pain. Phil could hear Dahlia screaming as he looked up the ramp towards the two men who had the tiny girl held captive.

"Paul let her go!" Phil yelled as he stood at the ropes with his back to Curtis. He was just getting through the ropes when he felt something hit the back of his head and made him drop to the ground before the clang of metal on the apron sounded next to him and he seen the chair. Curtis grabbed Punks arms and dragged him to the turn buckle before pulling out a thing of handcuffs. He placed him with his back to the turn buckle before putting his arms through the bottom rope so they hung behind him and clamping them into the metal restraints.

"You're girlfriend is gonna get it." Curtis said as he grabbed Phil's chin in his hand hard before pushing it to the side. Ryback made his way into the ring with the fighting female as Phil fought off the grogginess that had consumed his head. He tilted his head up as Ryback stood in front of him with Dahlia up on his shoulder and he tried to get his hands free.

"Ryback please! It's me you want not her! Paul I swear to god!" Phil began to yell as he kicked out with his legs. Ryback only smiled as he put her in the position for the shell shock and Phil's cries became more desperate. "Ryback don't-!" He began but was forced to watch as he dropped with the her her and she laid sprawled out on the ground motionless. Ryback sat up with a giant smile on his face as he looked at Punk and then back to the seemingly lifeless body of Dahlia.

"Do it again!" Paul yelled with delight and Phil just looked on in pained horror, tears in his eyes as a few people came out to try and stop the brutality towards the young woman.

"Dahlia!" Phil yelled hoping to get some sort of response when superstars and refs managed to get the three other men out of the ring so medical staff could look at her.

"Don't worry Punk we found the key." One of the staff members said as they went around and uncuffed him from the ropes. He crawled quickly towards Dahlia who still hadn't some to and pushed the hair out of her face.

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you." He whispered to her as he continued to stroke her hair.

"Punk we need you to move, she needs to be seen by a professional." One of the medical staff said as they brought a stretcher out and put her onto it. Phil followed along beside her and kept a firm hold onto her hand until they reached the ambulance that was waiting in the back.

"Poor Dahlia, if only someone had known they could have prevented all this." Phil heard Nick say in mock sympathy for his girlfriend and he turned to glare daggers at him. "Oh wait, I could have." He said smiling as he slowly walked away from Phil chuckling.

"You're really sick you know that? That's why I'm not gonna have a problem ripping that ten pound hunk of meat off the end of your neck." Phil said in his normal voice as he snapped.


End file.
